List the top 12 seasons between Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant

[Narigo]

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[No-more-rings]

2016 Curry
2017 Curry
2021 Curry
2014 Durant
2015 Curry
2013 Durant
2017 Durant
2019 Curry
2016 Durant
2022 Curry
2012 Durant
2018 Durant

Missed games matter, that’s why 2018 Curry ain’t there and it’s why 2019 Durant ain’t there since missed too much of the playoffs. Really cost his team a 3 peat.

[MyUniBroDavis]

Off the top of my head probably

2017 Curry
2017 Durant
2016 Curry
2019 curry
2018 Durant
2022 Curry
2015 Curry
2019 Durant
2014 Durant
2018 Curry
2012 Durant
2016 Durant

If 2019 Durant was healthy he’d be after 17 Durant

Comparing seasons though, he was obv a better player in previous seasons (Curry better player in previous seasons, but if he goes crazy during these finals that’ll move me)

[70sFan]

Curry best seasons:

2017
2016
2019
2021
2015
2022
2014
2018

Durant best seasons:

2014
2017
2013
2016
2018
2019
2012

My list:

1. 2017 Curry
2. 2016 Curry
3. 2014 Durant
4. 2017 Durant
5. 2019 Curry
6. 2021 Curry
7. 2015 Curry
8. 2013 Durant
9. 2016 Durant
10. 2022 Curry
11. 2018 Durant
12. 2014 Curry

[DraymondGold]

Fun comparison! Curry and Durant are always tied together for understandable reasons. I'll give this a shot:

Curry's top seasons:
Peak: 2017 (playoff peak), 2016 (regular season peak; could have been overall peak if he had a healthy playoffs)
Prime: 2015, 2019 / 2021 / 2022
Low Prime: 2018 (more injuries), 2014 (still young)
Thoughts: I'm conflicted on the ordering of Curry's prime years. 2015 has favorable regular season impact metrics by a fair margin (e.g. here: https://www.bball-index.com/impact-metric-comparison/), but is still younger and less experienced (and thus arguably less resilient). 2019 and 2021 both feel similar: he took it easier in the regular season vs his peak years, but he stayed healthy and performed well against good defenses in the playoffs / playins. How much do we value regular season impact metrics vs coasting in the regular season and increased playoff resilience?
2022 feels different from the others: it's his best year on defense, passing, and arguably decision making, at the cost of some scoring. But how much value does he lose from worse shooting? He definitely loses some, though I tend to think it's overrated. And how much of the scoring decline is random shooting variation as opposed to an actual decline due to age and increased effort on defense?

Durant's top seasons:
Peak: 2017, 2014, 2016
Prime: 2013, 2018
Low Prime: 2019 (injuries), 2012 (still young), 2021 (more injuries)
Thoughts: 2014 is probably Durant's regular season peak, but 2017 is arguably his playoff peak. Stylistically, I like his more well-rounded game in 2017, with increased focus on defense, rebounding, and balancing off-ball movement with passing. I could definitely see some of those changes being contextual (different team, different coach, etc.), but I still prefer the playoff performance and the more well-rounded, scalable style of 2017 to 2014. I also have 2016 as a clear step above 2013. Perhaps I should look back in 2013, but from memory, I remember liking his experience and playoff performance in 2016 above 2013.
Many of the other years are pulled down by injuries. 2019 would certainly be a prime year on a per game basis, as would 2012, 2021, and even 2022, but many of them are pulled down by injuries.

First pass at ranking all seasons:
1. 2017 Curry
2. 2016 Curry
3. 2015 Curry
*gap*
4. 2017 Durant
5. 2019 Curry
6. 2014 Durant,
7. 2021 Curry
8. 2022 Curry
9. 2016 Durant
*gap*
10. 2013 Durant
11. 2018 Curry
12. 2018 Durant

Thoughts: To me, Curry's peak is clearly higher than Durants. The gap in impact metrics is just too large for me to take a Durant season over Curry 2015, though 2015 Curry is clearly the lower than the other two. If you're low on the regular season, or inexperience, okay with coasting, and/or higher on resilience/experience, I could see arguing the top of Tier 2 over the bottom of Tier 1.

Tier 2 was the hardest to order, and I could definitely be swayed to a different order. Not exactly sure how Curry and Durant's seasons line up there. Let me know what you think!

After Tier 2, I also see a gap before we get to the Tier 3 seasons.

[70sFan]

Fun comparison! Curry and Durant are always tied together for understandable reasons. I'll give this a shot:

Curry's top seasons:
Peak: 2017 (playoff peak), 2016 (regular season peak; could have been overall peak if he had a healthy playoffs)
Prime: 2015, 2019 / 2021 / 2022
Low Prime: 2018 (more injuries), 2014 (still young)
Thoughts: I'm conflicted on the ordering of Curry's prime years. 2015 has favorable regular season impact metrics by a fair margin (e.g. here: https://www.bball-index.com/impact-metric-comparison/), but is still younger and less experienced (and thus arguably less resilient). 2019 and 2021 both feel similar: he took it easier in the regular season vs his peak years, but he stayed healthy and performed well against good defenses in the playoffs / playins. How much do we value regular season impact metrics vs coasting in the regular season and increased playoff resilience?
2022 feels different from the others: it's his best year on defense, passing, and arguably decision making, at the cost of some scoring. But how much value does he lose from worse shooting? He definitely loses some, though I tend to think it's overrated. And how much of the scoring decline is random shooting variation as opposed to an actual decline due to age and increased effort on defense?

Durant's top seasons:
Peak: 2017, 2014, 2016
Prime: 2013, 2018
Low Prime: 2019 (injuries), 2012 (still young), 2021 (more injuries)
Thoughts: 2014 is probably Durant's regular season peak, but 2017 is arguably his playoff peak. Stylistically, I like his more well-rounded game in 2017, with increased focus on defense, rebounding, and balancing off-ball movement with passing. I could definitely see some of those changes being contextual (different team, different coach, etc.), but I still prefer the playoff performance and the more well-rounded, scalable style of 2017 to 2014. I also have 2016 as a clear step above 2013. Perhaps I should look back in 2013, but from memory, I remember liking his experience and playoff performance in 2016 above 2013.
Many of the other years are pulled down by injuries. 2019 would certainly be a prime year on a per game basis, as would 2012, 2021, and even 2022, but many of them are pulled down by injuries.

First pass at ranking all seasons:
1. 2017 Curry
2. 2016 Curry
3. 2015 Curry
*gap*
4. 2017 Durant
5. 2019 Curry
6. 2014 Durant,
7. 2021 Curry
8. 2022 Curry
9. 2016 Durant
*gap*
10. 2013 Durant
11. 2018 Curry
12. 2018 Durant

Thoughts: To me, Curry's peak is clearly higher than Durants. The gap in impact metrics is just too large for me to take a Durant season over Curry 2015, though 2015 Curry is clearly the lower than the other two. If you're low on the regular season, or inexperience, okay with coasting, and/or higher on resilience/experience, I could see arguing the top of Tier 2 over the bottom of Tier 1.

Tier 2 was the hardest to order, and I could definitely be swayed to a different order. Not exactly sure how Curry and Durant's seasons line up there. Let me know what you think!

After Tier 2, I also see a gap before we get to the Tier 3 seasons.

Nice post, thanks for your input!

Have you seen the unfinished project run by Odinn in 2020 about top 12 seasons between top 10 players ever?

[DraymondGold]

My list:

1. 2017 Curry
2. 2016 Curry
3. 2014 Durant
4. 2017 Durant
5. 2019 Curry
6. 2021 Curry
7. 2015 Curry
8. 2013 Durant
9. 2016 Durant
10. 2022 Curry
11. 2018 Durant
12. 2014 Curry

Hi 70sFan! I'd love to discuss some of the ways our lists differ. Overall, I think I'm a little higher on Curry over Durant, but I think your list seems very reasonable.

A few differences jumped out to me as interesting:

1. 2015 Curry vs 2019/2021 Curry. I have 2015 tentatively higher, while it looks like you have 2015 lower.

2. Peak Durant vs Curry's 3rd best season (whether it's 15, 19, 21, or 22). I have Curry's 3rd best season higher than peak Durant, while it looks like you have both Durant's best two years over Curry's 3rd.

3. 2016 Durant vs 2013 Durant. I have 16 over 13, while you have the reverse.

I'd love to hear your thoughts (or others' thoughts) on any of these three differences!

Nice post, thanks for your input!

Have you seen the unfinished project run by Odinn in 2020 about top 12 seasons between top 10 players ever?

Edit: just saw your reply! I've definitely seen it -- they've been a fun read. It looks like there's some interest in getting the project started again? I'm definitely interested in joining (time permitting), but as I've found out as I was writing this post, it takes a fair bit of time to get my thoughts organized!

[70sFan]

Hi 70sFan! I'd love to discuss some of the ways our lists differ. Overall, I think I'm a little higher on Curry over Durant, but I think your list seems very reasonable.

Sure! To be honest, I made these lists within 5 minutes or so, it's possible that I didn't put too much effort and missed some nuances.

A few differences jumped out to me as interesting:

1. 2015 Curry vs 2019/2021 Curry. I have 2015 tentatively higher, while it looks like you have 2015 lower.

I know that Curry's 2015 RS performance was very impressive, but I think that older Curry was more resilient on both ends of the floor. Steph had some moments in 2015 when things were tough for him in postseason. He didn't have the same experience on utilizing Kerr system, but he also improved a lot physically (bulked up, improved his conditioning). On top of that, older Curry was considerably better on defense - he became a very solid defender, while he was slightly below average in 2015 in my opinion.

2. Peak Durant vs Curry's 3rd best season (whether it's 15, 19, 21, or 22). I have Curry's 3rd best season higher than peak Durant, while it looks like you have both Durant's best two years over Curry's 3rd.

To be honest, I thought about putting Durant's peak below 2015, 2019 and 2021 but I decided that I may underrate KD a little bit. In the end, he had some these very impressive, complete seasons.

3. 2016 Durant vs 2013 Durant. I have 16 over 13, while you have the reverse.

Yes, I thought that he did a fairly good job facilitating the offense in 2013 playoffs without Westbrook. I know that he struggled against Memphis, but he didn't play in his optimal role.

Meanwhile 2016 Durant massively underperformed in the postseason in my opinion. He had fairly impressive series against SAS, but the way he finished the WCF was really bad. I know that some people viewed this season as Durant's big breakthrough as a defender, I was never impressed with his defense though.

What's your thoughts about 2016 over 2013?

Edit: just saw your reply! I've definitely seen it -- they've been a fun read. It looks like there's some interest in getting the project started again? I'm definitely interested in joining (time permitting), but as I've found out as I was writing this post, it takes a fair bit of time to get my thoughts organized!

Well, for now we have to focus on one project - peaks voting I would like to finish that project, but it's Odinn's idea and he run it, not me. I tried to contact him many times, but it seems he's gone for good. I hope he's doing well...

[Proxy]

Something like

1. 17 Steph
2. 16 Steph
3. 18 Steph

4. 21 Steph
5. 15 Steph
6. 19 Steph
7. 17 KD
8. 16 KD
9. 18 KD
10. 19 KD
11. 14 KD

12. 13 KD

22 Steph will probably be an HM, 21, 22, and 12 KD, as well as 14 Curry also ones

Very hard to rank because of injuries, 3 to 11 ish is pretty much a mostly interchangeable big tier but i'll lean the Steph years bc of higher confidence from his other high ones

The injuries make it extremely difficult and the list is a little bit more how I feel about their 'goodness' than maybe it is actual production(hence 16 KD being that high despite the mediocre playoffs - he didn't really change that much in 2017 to me)

[Colbinii]

Something like

1. 17 Steph
2. 16 Steph
3. 18 Steph

4. 21 Steph
5. 15 Steph
6. 19 Steph
7. 17 KD
8. 16 KD
9. 18 KD
10. 19 KD
11. 14 KD

12. 13 KD

22 Steph will probably be an HM, 21, 22, and 12 KD, as well as 14 Curry also ones

Very hard to rank because of injuries, 3 to 11 ish is pretty much a mostly interchangeable big tier but i'll lean the Steph years bc of higher confidence from his other high ones

The injuries make it extremely difficult and the list is a little bit more how I feel about their 'goodness' than maybe it is actual production(hence 16 KD being that high despite the mediocre playoffs - he didn't really change that much in 2017 to me)

Cool list--I enjoy this.

[TheGOATRises007]

17 Curry
16 Curry
17 Durant
21 Curry
18 Curry
19 Curry
19 Durant
15 Curry
18 Durant
16 Durant
14 Durant
13 Durant

I do think KD on the Warriors is tricky to evaluate. That said, I do think it was his best season and I still believe the Warriors wouldn't have won that finals without him. If I saw 21 Curry in the playoffs, I'd probably put him 3rd.

I think 22 Curry can sneak in there, because his finals performance thus far has been incredible against an amazing Celtics defense. I'm honestly not sure if 15 Curry has this type of resiliency against this same defense. If 16 Curry performed at his RS level in the playoffs, he'd be obviously 1st. It's arguably the best RS peak of all-time.

21 KD is better than any of the OKC Durant versions IMO, but too many missed games in the RS.